New Camera Help

[dahlinger66]

Hi,

I am new to this forum and I am in the process of getting a DSLR. Does anyone have any good recommendations? I am looking to spend tops of $700 new or used? Please help me out.

[dahlinger66]

Whats the Best camera.?
Nikon?
Sony?
Canon?

[Photo-John]

Best depends on your budget and your needs. The reality is, all digital SLRs now are excellent. None of them are going to take bad pictures or really get in your way. Why don't you tell us more about what you want to take pictures of, what kind of experience you have and how much money you have to spend. Then we can really help you. In the meantime, take a look at our Top Five Beginner Digital SLRs guide. It should give you some useful background and possibly even answer your question

Top Five to Digital SLRs >>

I'll keep my eyes on this post so I can make sure to answer more questions for you!

[Anbesol]

Well, in my personal opinion - if I had $700 to get a DSLR, I would definitely go for a used one, so I could get an older pro-body, like a Canon 40D, Sony A700 or Nikon D200 or something of the sort. They won't have the newer features like video recording, but they are durable bodies that are much more functional in field.

However, that is only what I would do with $700 towards getting a DSLR. You might be wanting something for a completely different purpose. Do you want to have a lot of manual control over the camera or do you want to use mostly automatic functions?

[Photo-John]

Well, in my personal opinion - if I had $700 to get a DSLR...

Whoops. Looks like I spaced out on the budget info

On the other hand, my link to the beginner digital SLR article was right on target for that budget

[GB1]

Deciding between Nikon and Canon is like choosing a religion: both are top notch / state-of-the-art systems, and deciding which is better is just debatable. I use Nikon, but if I had to do it all over again I may go with Canon, as I feel that their lenses are better value.

But there's also nothing wrong with the Pentax, Olympus, Sony etc DSLRs either.

The issue with buying used is, image sensor technology is advancing so rapidly in terms of noise reduction, dynamic range, and so on, that brand new cameras are just a big step up from two year old cameras. Still, for a first camera, prob doesn't make much difference.

[Anbesol]

The issue with buying used is, image sensor technology is advancing so rapidly in terms of noise reduction, dynamic range, and so on, that brand new cameras are just a big step up from two year old cameras. Still, for a first camera, prob doesn't make much difference.

The most recent advancements have been almost exculisvely to high iso benefit, not so much with range and HDR. Other advancements have been with video and in-camera HDR stuff.

Still, its a lot more fluid handling the manual controls on for example a 40D than it is a T3i. To me, that benefit is greater than high-ISO/IQ advantage, even over the production size difference between 18 and 10-12 megapixels (which is less significant than it sounds).

Anyway honestly don't want to presume that the OP needs a used pro-body, maybe a new consumer level body is better for him, hence I emphasized "personally". I think my advice only applies if OP is interested in frequenting manual controls.

[GB1]

The most recent advancements have been almost exculisvely to high iso benefit, not so much with range and HDR.

Not with what I'm seeing w/ my Nikon D700 compared to my previous Nikon D200. There's a lot more detail in the shadows area and less burn out in the brights.

[sic0048]

I'm going to buck the trend and advise that you start out with something basic like to bottom end Nikon or Canon. I shoot Nikon and the D3100 is a very nice camera. For around $550 you can get the camera and kit lens. Buying a used body is always a crap shoot. Sure you can get a higher end body when buying used, but they do have a finite life expectancy and many of these pro bodies are going to be close to EOL. Buying used glass is fine because there is little that actually wears out, but a body can wear out and cease to function properly. I would also recommend that you buy the Nikon 35mm f1.8 AS-F lens (runs about $200) as one of your first extra lenses. You could get both and still be under your $700 budget.

Don't worry about sinking a lot of money into a top of the line body. You money is better spent getting qood quality, fast lenses. Those lenses can be expensive, but they hold their value extremely well. You can upgrade the body every once in a while if you want to, but once you get good glass, you can use it forever.

[Anbesol]

Not with what I'm seeing w/ my Nikon D700 compared to my previous Nikon D200. There's a lot more detail in the shadows area and less burn out in the brights.

The current successor of the D200 is the D300S, comparing the D700 naturally has an advantage, that is measured out in cost as well. The better detail is mostly the contribution of full frame technology, not necessarily representative of advancements in APS crop sensors, the D700 more closely compared to canon's first 5D.